Civil Service: Special Leave

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Exchequer Secretary, Angela Eagle, on 31 March (Official Report, Commons, 674—5W), whether all departments have the same special paid leave rules as HM Treasury; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Exchequer Secretary, Angela Eagle, on 31 March (Official Report, Commons, 674—5W), how many days, by department, of special leave for valuable public service were taken in (a) 1996, (b) 2001, and (c) 2006.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The arrangements for special paid leave are delegated to individual departments to determine.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Compensation: Pleural Plaque

Lord Dixon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 21 April (WA 227), what representations they have received since the Law Lords' judgment on pleural plaques on 10 October 2007; and whether they will announce their response to the judgment while the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill is before Parliament.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government have received a wide range of representations since the Law Lords' judgment on 17 October 2007 from people diagnosed with pleural plaques, trades unions, the legal profession, the insurance industry and others with an interest. We are committed to consulting on the way forward, and hope to be in a position formally to announce next steps in the next two or three weeks.

House of Lords: Public Petitions

Lord Norton of Louth: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	How many public petitions have been presented to the House of Lords in the past 20 years; and when was the last occasion on which such a petition was presented.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Twenty-eightpublic petitions have been presented to the House of Lords in the past 20 years. The last occasion on which such a petition was presented was 13 December 2000.